Vladimir Putin has declared Elon Musk a “real genius.” The compliment followed satellite talks, which means a head of state has now praised a tech billionaire for something nobody has explained in public.
The Kremlin says the two men are in “close” contact. Close is the word they chose, and close is carrying a lot of weight, since nobody has said what they are close about.
Is this an alliance? Officially, no. Officially, it is a conversation about satellites, which is what every conversation between a president and a rocket founder sounds like on paper.
Musk has spent years presenting himself as a man who simply says what he thinks. Putin has spent two decades presenting himself as a man who simply says what he thinks. For the first time, they have found someone who will say it back.
Neither side has offered a satellite, a launch date, or a budget. Both have offered a compliment, which in this market is the more liquid currency.
The genius has not yet clarified what the satellites are for. Nobody has asked, which is how these things usually work.